Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Shares Bought by Summit Financial LLC

Summit Financial LLC grew its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 14.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 22,382 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,898 shares during the period. Summit Financial LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $2,456,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. lifted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 6.4% during the fourth quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. now owns 99,051 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,799,000 after purchasing an additional 5,982 shares in the last quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC now owns 401,263 shares of the company’s stock valued at $43,746,000 after acquiring an additional 2,211 shares in the last quarter. Searle & CO. raised its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 57.7% in the fourth quarter. Searle & CO. now owns 57,874 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,309,000 after acquiring an additional 21,184 shares in the last quarter. Howe & Rusling Inc. raised its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Howe & Rusling Inc. now owns 18,737 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,043,000 after acquiring an additional 431 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Concord Wealth Partners raised its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 18.3% in the fourth quarter. Concord Wealth Partners now owns 28,590 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,117,000 after acquiring an additional 4,432 shares in the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently commented on the company. Societe Generale lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $104.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Monday, March 11th. UBS Group raised their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $135.00 to $148.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 27th. TheStreet cut Merck & Co., Inc. from a “b+” rating to a “c+” rating in a research report on Monday, March 4th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $131.33.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MRK traded down $0.41 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $128.81. 5,895,742 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 8,272,977. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $126.50 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $116.42. The company has a market cap of $326.28 billion, a PE ratio of 143.54, a P/E/G ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a current ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12-month low of $99.14 and a 12-month high of $133.10.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $2.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.94 by $0.13. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 14.15% and a net margin of 3.76%. The firm had revenue of $15.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.21 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.40 EPS. Merck & Co., Inc.’s revenue was up 8.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 8.65 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Merck & Co., Inc.

In related news, insider Joseph Romanelli sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $124.89, for a total value of $124,890.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 19,569 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,443,972.41. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, EVP Steven Mizell sold 50,694 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $126.65, for a total value of $6,420,395.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 23,619 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,991,346.35. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Joseph Romanelli sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $124.89, for a total value of $124,890.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 19,569 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,443,972.41. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.09% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Merck & Co., Inc. Profile

Merck & Co, Inc operates as a healthcare company worldwide. It operates through two segments, Pharmaceutical and Animal Health. The Pharmaceutical segment offers human health pharmaceutical products in the areas of oncology, hospital acute care, immunology, neuroscience, virology, cardiovascular, and diabetes under the Keytruda, Bridion, Adempas, Lagevrio, Belsomra, Simponi, and Januvia brands, as well as vaccine products consisting of preventive pediatric, adolescent, and adult vaccines under the Gardasil/Gardasil 9, ProQuad, M-M-R II, Varivax, RotaTeq, Live Oral, Vaxneuvance, Pneumovax 23, and Vaqta names.